Having had a quick peek at the propaganda thread, I've realised that most depictions of octopus are rather negative in our culture. Usually, one state (or corporation) will be tagged with the evil octopus :sink: symbolism when perceived as a threat.

However, I can think of one state (though not a country) that dared to embrace its own cephalopodic particularities (and no, it's not R'lyeh :cthulhu:): New-Caledonia has a nautilus :nautilus: on its coat of arms.

Can anyone think of other states that use a ceph as a symbol?

Not a state, but the Octopus & Military thread has numerous positive uses...